WARWICKSHIRE batting star Dominic Ostler will miss the rest of the season after surgery on his recurring elbow injury.

"It's a hell of a blow to us," admitted coach Bob Woolmer, "because he has enjoyed a fine season.

"Dominic has suffered with tennis elbow on and off for several years, but it became inflamed more than ever against Derbyshire. Surgery is the only realistic course of action if we are going to sorty him out properly.

Ostler's injury probably accounted for Warwickshire's safety-first tactics in the second half of their Division Two clash against Derbyshire which petered out into a soulless draw on Saturday - but they still came in for some criticism from the visitors.

The Bears used nine bowlers, including wicket-keeper Keith Piper, as Derbyshire batted through the final day to reach 435.

"It was never going to be easy to get a positive finish after losing so much time but we might have had a chance if Warwickshire had been prepared to play ball a bit," said Derbyshire manager Colin Wells.

"In the event, they put two sweepers back as soon as Mathew Dowman started getting after the bowling and that made it virtually impossible for us to get the arithmetic right for a declaration.

"On a pitch as good as this one had become, we needed at least 60 overs to have a decent chance of bowling them out a second time and once that possibility had gone, there was no way we could just give them the game on a plate."